Machine for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes.



L. G. FREEMAN.

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 18,1909.

Patented 0ct..6, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1 THE NORRIS PETE/6i cn PHOTO-LINK).\VASHINGTON, I) c,

L. G. FREEMAN.

MAGHINE FUR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLIOATION FILED 00'1'.18, 1909.

1, 1 1 8, 1 14, Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

4 SHEETSfSHEET 2.

WT/VESSfS. Z 71m, M

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOm-LIrH0.. WASHINGTON. u. (1

L. G. FREEMAN.

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLIOATION FILED OUT. 18, 1909.

Patennea Oct. 6, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 lllfn f W/T/VESFEE.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOm-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D C

L. G. FREEMAN.

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OFBOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 18, 1909.

Patented Oct. 6,1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4:.

W TA ESSESi 242% C3.

Wvevrmz THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOm-LITHO., WASHINGTON. D. c.

nnrrnn stares PA I i LOUIS G. FREEMAN, orcrnoinnn'rl, onIo. ASSIGNOR rounlrnn'snon MACHINERY COMPANY, or :enrnnson, new JER$EY, A search-Arron or .NEVVIIJ'ERSEY...

Mnonmnronjnsn In THE MANUFACTURE or BOOTS A T elite 101a it may concern:

Be it known. that I, Louis G. FREEMAN, a citiaenofthe.UnitedStat-es, residing at incinnati, in the county of liliamilton and State of ()hio. hare invented certain Improvements in Machines for Usein the Manufacture of Boots and Shoes, of which the following description. in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures. it

This invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes and particularly to 1119.

last in the lastingoperation and at the heel the upper is permanently secured to the lnncrsole by a row of fully dr ven heel Seat tacks or other fastcn ngs located along the margin of the heelend of the shoe bottom.

At the shank and forepart the overworked upper is secured by partially driven tacks and other temporary means in the lasting; operation. These temporary fastening's are later replaced by a seam which connects the upper and also a welt to the lip of the innersole. This seam, commonly called the inseam, extends from a point adjacent to the heel seat on oneside of the shoe along;

the shank and forepart around the toe and to a point adjacent to the heel seat at the opposite side of the shoe. This scam, or the stitch forming instrumcntalitics emplo-yed in ma king; it, tightens these portions of the upper about the last and the seam fastens the upper snugjlyito the inner-sole. it is, however, impractical in forming this seam with the sewing machines used for the purpose to position the stitch-forming instrumentalities so that the seam is cominenced at the point Where the permanent tacking the heel seat ends or to continue the seam to the first fully driven tack adjacentto the end of the scam. At the latter" Doint the channel guide, which is located in advance of the stitch-forming devices and runs under or against the lip of the innersole encounters the stockphcld by the first heel seat tack and thereby prevents the seam Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 65.1914.

Application filed. October 18, 1909. l ScrialNo. 523,144 1 tack and there is usually about the same the upper is notwsecured. left at each side of the shoe between the fronrbeing continued beyond a point: one half inch or more from the first Iheel seat space at the other sideof the shoe Whereti.

Thus a place .is i

inseam and the heel seat tacks Where the.

upper is not snugly lasted over and fastened and a little looseness of theupper may. usually be observed at these points after. the

wcltinpoperation. Also in many lastslthere is an inward curvature of the last .edge on one or both sides of the shoe at. or ad jacent to these points which requiresfor the fitting of the shoe, that a momma. tightening of the upper be given at these heel stiffener to this contour of the last.

places in order t conforln the upper and In .the heel attaching operation the heavy .1:

pressure to which the shoe is subjected forces the upper materials outwardly at any points Where they are not secured and then the fullness or looseness of the upper at the front end of the heel seat is more 010- vlous and it detracts from the appearance of the shoe. Another condition which: contributes to this loosenessis that the ends of I the inseam, particularly the final end, usu. ally run up toward the top or edge of the lip instead of heingformed in the channel at the base of the lip. This is. because the overdrawn and tacked upper at the heel 3 mt renders it diflicult for the sewing machine operator to pos1t1on the .sewmg in I strumentalities down in the channel, or against the base of the 11p, instarting the seam and to retain them there as the sewing approaches the tacked heel seat on the side where the scam is ended. In those shoes the lip under thepressure ofthe heel attache ing operation so that the looseness produced 1 0. the upper extends forwardly alongthe,

rear end portions of the inseam as ell es being found in the space between the mseam and the heel seat tacks. To tighten thesei f loose portions of -the upper materials of a welt shoe "overthe'last and secure them is of course in the nature of a portion of the lasting operation but is a part of that operation which is necessarily deferred until after the welt attaching operation.

In the recent development of shoe manufacturing there has been, as is well known, a demand on the one hand for better fitted shoes and on the other hand for expedition and economy in the several making operations. An effort has been made to meet the first demand by employing a workman to press or rub with his thumb the shoe stock at and adjacent to the end ofthe inseam upwardly and inwardly over the edge of the shoe and hold it while he drives a tack to secure it in tightened relation to the last. This manual operation has been a rather ineffective and a slow one and the demand for expedition and economy of labor has made this hand operation practical only on the higher priced shoes. A machine designed to replace this hand operation for tightening and securing the upper materials over the last at the ends of the inseam so as to do the work more effectively than the hand welt attached to the upper and innersole about the forward portion and shank, and comprises means for engaging the shoe stock for a limited distance adjacent to the rear end of the welt to tighten the upper about the last and hold the upper While it is being secured.

The machine further comprises mechanism for driving tacks to eflect the securing of the upper. The engaging means is preferably constructed and arranged to contact with the shoe stock in the crease between the upper and the welt, usually called the welt'crease and by such engagement at and adjacent to the end of the inseam to crowd the upper over the edge of the last and the innersole. Force applied to the shoe at this point can be made to draw snugly to the last the portion of upper intervening between the end of the seam and th'e'end of the row of heel seat tacks as well as-the' portion of upper immediately adjacent to or'below the end portions of the inseam. Preferably the tack driving means is arranged in proximity to the engaging means, and the tacker and engaging means I may be-arranged for relative movement in adirection to bring the tacker and the engaging means from a relative position suitableto permit the convenient engagement quire therefore to be beveled or scarfed for this purpose. This welt end beveling operation, called welt butting "in the shop, is at the present time done by hand. An important feature of the invention of said 'copending application consists in the provision of a single machine constructed and arranged to perform the two operations heretofore done by hand, of butting the welt and tightening the upper and securing the upper material,including, it may be, the welt, in

proper relation to the last and to other parts of the shoe.

In the machine above referred to a welt supporting means is provided which is adapted to extend under the welt between it and the shoe bottom to guard the shoe from the welt butting knife and to protect the knife from engagement with the heel seat tacks. This welt supporter is formed and arranged to hold the end portion of the welt in proper angularrelation to the path of the cutter to secure the desired form of bevel on the welt end both lengthwise and transversely of the welt. The machine is provided with means for beveling the two ends of the welt at the same time at opposite sides of the shoe and the welt positioning means includes devices arranged to support the two welt ends in planes inclined transversely of the shoe to each other and to the plane of the shoe bottom. This arrangewardly extended guides or fingers to engage the relatively smooth middle portion of the shoe bottom and direct the rests into their operative relations to the work. In the machine of the present invention, which is an improvement upon the machineabove referred to, the rests, preferably, have sharpened front ends which form stitch cutting edges to sever the inseam stitches in case the inseam is extended too far toward the heel on either side of the shoe. An'adjustable back stop or heel end rest is provided to control the distance from the heel end of the shoe atv which the stitches shall bev out and the welt ends butted. The stitch cutters are mounted to yield independentlyto permit either one of them to give way to an unusual obstruction and permit the shoe to be positioned against the back stop in the right relation to the welt butting knives. The welt rests are mounted to occupy normally a shoe receiving position below the Welt butting position so as to facilitate the positioning of the shoe.

The stitch cutting is or may be effected before the shoe reaches the welt butting position. The upward. movement of the welt rests and the shoe to welt butting position may advantageously be effected by or as an incident of the backward movement of the shoe against the stitch cutting. edges and againstthe backstop. To this end said rests which comprise also the guide fingers, the shoe guards and the stitch cutters are mounted for movement obliquely upwardly and backwardlyby rearward pressure of the shoe, said parts as shown being supported upon parallel links by whichthis movement and that of the shoe is directed points determined by theback stop, then continues the movement by which the shoe and rests are forced backwardly and upwardly into the field of operatlon of the welt butters and in this movement. automatically starts the welt butters into operation to removethe surplus material from and to shape the ends of the welt. It will be observed that the stitch cutters operate in one posit-ion of the shoe and the welt butters in a different position of the shoe butboth act while the operator maintains his manipula tive hold upon the shoe as do also the upper tightening and tacking instrumentalities which do their work in still another position of the shoe.

A further feature of. this invention comprises novel means for-rubbing or smoothing down the welt end in advance of the welt butting knife so as to present the welt end in the proper position for the cutting operation. I

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be further explained in the following description and then pointed out in the claims.

The drawings represent. anapparatus em: 1

bodying the invention in the best form now known to me.

l igure 1 shows of the'machine; Fig. 2 the head of the machine and the jack in front elevation; Figs. 2, 2', 2 are respectively top, front and side views of the upper portion of thefljack spindle;.liig. 3shows in plan and in operativo relation to the shoe the welt restingand stitch cutting devices, the welt buttingdevices and the shoe engaging member by which the upper is tightened over the last adjacent to the end of the welt and held in position to be fastenedby the tacker which appears in section. The operative movements of the shoe for presenting it to each ofthese devices successively are indi- ,cated by arrowheadcd lines; Fig. 4 is a side elevation and sectional view on the in side elevation the head line d t of F showing the upper tight sure of the shoe automatically effects an upward movement of the shoe into operative relation tothe tackcr" nozzle; Fig. 5 is a plan view to show particularly the members for cutting the stitches and supporting the \veltends in position for the operation; of the butting knives in beveling the welt. This tigure discloses the transverserelation of the guide lingers ofesaid member to the shoe the arrangement which permits said members to yield independently; and the adjusting means for the hold back stop; Fig. (3 is a side elevation showing the operative relation of a welt supporting and stitch cutting member to the shoe, the. end cf the we] to be butted off and the angle o'iihe bevel being indicated bydotted lines, and Fig. 7 shows in vertical section the lower portion of the jack includingits looking and uplifting (mechanism. i

The machine comprises. a column 1 on which is the head 2 havingtwo brackets 3 and at. The bracket 3 at the righthand side, Figs. 1 and 2,.has twoparallel arms22,.28 which project upwardly and forwardly and between which is hungon a pivot 26 a swingingblock havingdepending arms 24, 25 which flare outwardly, see Fig. 3, and carry the welt butting knives 27 which are set obliquely as shown in Figs. 2 and 1 with relationto the vertical transverse and longitudinal planes of the machine. Cooperating with these knives and supporting the. welt ends for the action thereof are welt rests 28,

29 also arranged, Fig. 2,. in oppositely incllned relation tothe vertical longitudinal plane of the machine. The adapts them to receive beneath themand guard from injury by the knives a shoe having a rounded or peaked shank andto support the welt ends in their usual. outwardly inclined relation to that device by. reason of which inward presthe shoe. The front ends of the welt rests I are sloped as indicated at 30, Figs. 5 and 6, to position the portion 32 of the welt 33 to be cut off in suitable angular relation to the path of the knives for producing the desired bevel or scarf. The front edges of these welt rests are sharp enough to cut any stitches of the inseam which extend too far back on the shoe. The welt rests have forwardly extended fingers 31 to form guides for assisting the operator in presenting the shoe in operative relation to the welt restsand the stitch cutting edges thereof. These fingers are located to engage the relatively smooth middle portion of the shoe bottom or inner-sole so that the operator can slide the shoe bacl-twardly in contact therewith. The

pivot 26 for the knife block is located, 1, substantially over the place wherethecurl up and cause a sharper bevel or scarf to be formed than that for which the machine is arranged. The yielding nature of the wiper 35 permits it to move relatively to the knife while rubbing over the surface of the welt as the knife cuts obliquely through the welt in forming the bevel or scarf on the welt butt. The term knife as applied to .the welt butting device of this invention is to be understood in this specification and in the claims, where the context and the state of the art permit, as a term of designation,

and not one of limitation, to mean any suitable device for removing the surplus material from the end portion of the welt.

The welt rests 28, 29 are plates formed as shown best in Fig. 5 and carried in a frame 38 in which they may be arranged for limited longitudinal movement independently against the tension of springs 36 which are connected thereto and to studs 37 projecting from the frame through slots 39 in the rests. This permits either rest, if it strikes an unusual obstruction, such as a nail, to yield and permit the proper presentation of the shoe to the welt butting knives which in such instances can be relied upon to sever the surplus material from the shoe without The frame 38 is movably mounted on the upper ends of parallel links 42, 43 connect; ing itwith the bracket 3 at 40, 44 and 41, 45

respectively, Figs. 1 and 3, and a spring 46 stop screw 47 which is shown in dotted lines.

This arrangement presents the welt rests in a shoe receiving position below and in advance of the welt butting position where the ojjterator can conveniently slide the shoe backwardly in contact with the guid e fingers 31. until the stitches of the inseam strike the stitch cutting edges of the welt rests if the seam has been extended backwardly too far on either side of theshoe. The backward movement of the shoe will in such case be continued until the stitches are out to the points at each side of the shoe for which the machine is set. This is determined in part by the position or adjustment of the rests and finally by aback stop 48 arranged in the frame 38 to be engaged by the heel end of the shoe, Fig. 5. This pressure of the shoe backwardly against the stitch cutters or the back stop, or both, is made to overcome the tension of spring 46 and move the frame 38 and the welt rests backwardly and upwardly by the rearward swinging of links 42, 43 with the shoe guided and controlled as to position, both longitudinally and vertically, by the back stop and the welt rests. The extent of this movement of the frame 38 and parts associated with it is limited by an abutment 51 Figs. 1 and 3. The back stop 48 is arranged for adjustment by a rack 49 and hand wheel 50 for different sizes of shoes and the hand wheel has suitable graduations indicated on it as shown in Fig. 5.

A nigger 53 is pivoted to the frame 38 endwise movement therewith b" at for against the arm 54, Fig. 1, of a clutch controller in the form of a bell crank, the other arm of which has a detent 56 to engage a lug 57 of a one revolution clutch 58 which may be of any suitable type and-is not neccssary to describe here. Power'is derived from the shaft 11 through a belt 59 on a loose pulley 60 on the clutch shaft 61. The shaft 61 carries an eccentric 62 embraced by a strap on a rod 63 which extends forwardly to the swinging knife block to which it is connected at 64 for swinging the welt butting knives about the pivot 26. The

normal position of the clutch controller 54, 55, which is pivoted at 65 is that shown in Fig. 1 in which it is held by the spring 67 and an adjustable stop 66. The trigger has an inclined shoulder 7 O in the path of which is an abutment 69 on a post 68 and this abutment lifts the trigger in the last blade.

portionvof the backWa-rdstroke of the frame 38. This arrangement provides that the actuating means for the welt butting knives shall be started during the movement of the shoe (and the frame 38) from position of a presentation to welt butting position by the withdrawal of the clutch controller from the lug 5i and that the trigger shall release the clutch controller and permit it to return to position to stop the actuating promptly withdrawn after the welt butting,

operation.

The upper tightening and securing mechanism to which it iscontemplated that the shoe will be presented after the \veltends have been butted, is mounted on the second bracket at of the machine, Fig. 1, and in eludes the plate or blade 0 which isadj us ably, but stationarily,attached by bolt and slot connections, Fig.\3,to the bracket 4 so as to permit it to be positioned at the de" sired distance laterally from the nozzle 7 of the tacker to permit the convenient introduction of the welt between the blade and nozzle and also the driving of the tack from the nozzle at the desired distance inwardly with relation to the inseam. The blade 5 has an edge formation to adapt it to enter the welt crease, between the welt and the upper of the welted shoe, and preferably isthin enough to bear upon the stitches of the inseam or the stock adjacent to the stitches for pressing the stock inwardly to tighten the upper as the shoe is pressed laterally against the end of the The end portion of the blade is located below the nozzle a sufficient distance to facilitate the presentation of the shoe conveniently against the blade as above described and the manipulation of the shoe to stretch or tighten the upper over the last for removing any slack o1" looseness which may exist and conforming the upper materials to the contour of the adj accnt portion of the last. The blade 5 is preferably of spring metal and has between its operating end and its attaching end an upward' bend so that the outer end is located in ahigher plane than the innerend and has a tendency to spring upwardly whenpressure of the shoe laterally is applied thereto. This causes theshoe engaging end of the blade to move automatically, and carry the shoe with it, upwardly toward the plane of the nozzle, and into engagement with the nozzle, during the upper tightening operation whereby the shoe is presented in proper positionfor the tackingoperation while the upper is held in position to be secured @and without special attention fromthe operator.

The shoe engaging end of the blade 5,Whi1e being formed to engage the shoe forqa limitcd distance only adjacent to the end of theinseam and the row ofheelfseat tacks, is preferably of 1 substantial width, as shown, to engage several stitches, so as not to strain the inseam too much, and to overlieand rub against the upper in the space between the stitches and heel seattacks. This allows also that the shoe may be turned in a horizontal plane to apply extra pres:

sure at the end of the inseam, and rub along the upper in said space for working a the upper into proper lasted position and if desired bending or inclining the end portion of thewelt inwardly. -VVhn;the upper has been properly tightened by the manipulation of the shoe against the blade 5, the tacker is caused to insert a tack by depressing a treadle connected) with the trcadle rod 14,1 igs. 1 and This tacker may be of any suitable construction, such U for example as that shown in United States Letters Patent to Pym, No. 768,927, andas no claim is macle herein to the construction of the tacker it will not be described in detail, and it willbe sufficient to mention that it comprises a driver 6 working intheu noz-v zle 7 and operated by a leverS pivoted at 5.) and lifted againstthe spring 15 by a cam 10 of the shaft 11 which is driven by a pulley 12 and controlled by a clutch'c13 to which the treadle rod extends. Thetacks are fed to the nozzle from a hopper 16 in which is tack feeding mechanism driven by gears 17 and 18, pulleys 19 and 20 anda belt 2lfrom the shaft 11. a

which operate on the shoe although the shoe,

may be supportedentirely in the hands of the operator. The shoe support comprises a jack pin 71 pivoted at 72to have limited swinging movement in thevsleeve d upper end of the jack post 73, Which in turn is;

supported at its lower end by a ball and socket joint Tet, see Figs. 2 and 7, in the upper end of a sleeve 75 arranged totelescope in a surrounding cup-shaped sleeve or support 76, being, yieldingly supported therein by a spring 77.1 The supporting, sleeve 7 6 is formed integrally with an arm 78 fast on a shaft :79 pivoted on a block '80 mounted onthe front of the column so as to bring the jacknear, to and approximately beneath the tacking mechanism. The shaft 79 is provided at its outer end, see 2,

.witha rearwardly extending crank 81, see also Fig. 7, connected by a rod 82vto an eccentric 83 driven by the shaft 11 whenever the clutch 13 is released by the operator. Pivoted at 84: to the jack support 78 is a locking dog or lever 85 whose lower end 86 when in the position shown in Fig. 7 permits the sleeve 7 5 to move freely up and down in. the sleeve 76, but when turned on its pivot away from the position shown in Fig. 7 it instantly bites against the wear plate 87 and locks the two sleeves immovably together. To accomplish the automatic locking of the jack as thus explained the upper end of the lever 85 is provided with a bearing surface 88 to engage the cam end 89 of ablock 90 adjustably secured by bolts 91 to the upper end 92 of the block 80. Theaction of this cam arrangement is such that when the jack is raised by the rod 82 to bring the shoe into position beneath the tacker, the ack is positively locked against yielding movement just as it gets into nailreceiving position with the leather against the bottom of the nozzle 7, the rod 82 giving a very slight further upward movement to the ack, with the result that the leather is pinched against the last as the tack is driven, with almost exactly the same action and result'as when a nail is driven. by a hand hammer. The forcible pressing together of the jack and nozzle acts like a hammer to pound the leather as the tack is driven.

The operation of the machine is as follows.

The operator first seizes the jack post 78 and swings it forward into jacking position, places the shoe on the spindle 71 and then sliding itunder the guide fingers 31 and workingthe welt ends over the welt rests, swings it to the right and back with the heel toward the machine until the heel rests against the heel stop 48, and the beveled edges of the angularly. arranged welt rests 28, 29 extend overthe bottom of the heelpart of the shoe and between the seam and the ends of the welt in the position shown in Fig. 6. If there are any inseam stitchesto out they are severed as the shoe is forced back against the back stop, the operator then forces the shoe inwardly in the direction of the arrow 93, Fig. 3, until the clutch trip 56 releases the clutch 58. By this time the shoe and its welt-supporting rests 28, 29have been swung on the links 42, 43 rearwardly and upwardly toward the full lineposition, Fig. 1, so that the top surfaces of the members 28, 29 are in the proper plane of cooperate. with the scarfing knives 27. Immediately upon the releasing of the clutch 58, the knife actuator 63 is moved. to the rear, thereby swinging the scarfing knives downwardly in an arc of movement approximately tangential to the top surfaces 'of'theparts 31 and slicing or chopping off the rear end of the heel determines the point where the welt shall be butted or its distance from the rear end of the shoe, and the scarfing takes place instantly when the shoe has been pushed back to proper position. Simply pushing the shoe back into position as far as it will go automatically throws in the clutch which operates the cutting mechanism. As soon as the welt is trimmed or scarfed the knife returns to raised position and the shoe is then pulled forward toward the operator and swung around in the direction of the arrow 94, the adjacent front edge and corner of the blade 5 being located conveniently to catch under the welt as soon as the shoe is swung toward it and then, as the shoe is moved forward so as to bring the adjacent scarfed end of the welt below the nozzle, the stationary blade 5 engages the stitches which oin the welt to the shoe upper; and the operator, by pressing inwardly on the shoe, stretches the slack leather of the upper tightly over the last, and, as he does so, depresses the treadle rod let, causing the jack to be at once raised and then automatically locked the engagement of the surfaces 88, 89, and then the further raising movement hammers or:

pinches and presses the welt down hard upon the upper, and at the same moment the nail is driven by the nailer or tacker.

The operator has been enabled to retain his grasp of the shoe so that as a result of the combined hand manipulation and machine manipulation a smooth, tight shank portion of the upper 1s secured. After one side is nailed the jack-locking mechanism releases andpermits the lowering of the jack, and the operator pulls the shoe toward him from under the nozzle, turns the shoe and presents the other side, pressing the upper and welt against the pusher blade 5 to tighten the upper on the second side and again depresses the treadle and treadle rod 14, causing the jack to rise, become positively locked and then hammer or press the stock hard against the nozzle (which I make extra large for facilitating this operation) and drive the nail, thereby holding all that the hand manipulation and juxtaposition of mechanisms have accomplished. When a nail is driven and the machine comes to the stopping point, the jack is thereby released so that the operator can pull the shoe to tack if deemed necessary. The jack is operated in timed relation with the tacking.

stroke, and is even then capable of slipping,

under pressure which would injure the work, being entirely free approximately three quarters of the stroke, depending upon the adjustment ofjthe cam block 90, but when butting the welt the jack is perfectly free and it is also perfectlyfree when placingthe shoe on the jack spindle, and when moving the latter under the nozzle to tack the joint. It is not locked until the operator depresses the treadle to drive the nail,

which starts the jack lever 81 to swing the locking device upward, although, in pract1ce,th1s does not usually move the jack,

which has already been previously so shifted as to bring the leather of the shoe against the nozzle. As soon as the jack lever has brought the locking mechanism into action, then the further movement of said lever starts the compression of the leather between the jack spindle and the nozzle, this pressurebeing exertedcn the loose leather under the nozzle where the tack is to be driven. For handling the average sizes of adult shoes, the presser 5 and the tacker are aboutfour inches forward of the mechanism for butting the welt and about three inches to one side, this relation of the parts permitting the operator to maintain his grasp the arrow 94. The engaging end of the blade 5 is located immediately below and approximately in line with the tack delivering end of the nozzle? in position to press against the adjacent line of stitches. The operator catches the welt over said positioning end of the blade so as to bring the edge t the latter against the line of stitches, and in this positionthe shoe :is pressed gently and yet quickly forward to stretch the upper tight against the last and take up all loose leather. One purpose of having a wide end to the blade is so that it may wipe or smooth forward all the loose leather and hold this previously defective spot in properly stretched position while the holding tack or tacks are being driven. The main pushing or stretching is done by the part of said end i which is toward the toe of the shoe, so that the right hand part does the main pushing or stretching for one side of the shoe, and the left hand part for the other side of the shoe. The operator simply engages the scam stitch cutting edges blade between the Welt and upper and desired under the nozzle at the same time.

that he is stretching the upper by the for wardpushing movement. The shoe is first i engaged by the blade 5 and then, afteror during the stretching of the shoe, is engaged on the shoe bottom by the nozzle 7; The upper tightening member indicatedat 5 is shown and sometimes referred to hereinas a blade and while this memberinay, with certain advantages, be formed as a thin: plate, the term is used as one of designation and not as a term of limitation and wherever the context and the art permit it i's to be construed broadly as a .memberof any suitable form capable of performing the tightening operation.

vention, andfully described a construction embodyingthe same and how it may beused, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In an apparatus for use in removing surplus material at and adjacent to the two end portions of thewelt of a lasted and welt ed shoe, welt end rests comprising side members inclined transversely of the shoe inopposite dircctions and havingsharpened in.-

extending transversely ofthe shoe. l

2; A welt butting machine having, in combination, 111831155 for removing surplus material at and adjacent to the two end portions of the wcltand inseam stitch cutting means comprising oppositely inclined mem bers formed to receive an archedishank be tween them and having sharpened stitch cutting ends extending transversely of the shoe. J

i A welt buttingmachine having, in com bination, means for removing surplus material at and adjacent to the two jend portions of the welt, welt rests having stitch cutting front edges and aguard extending forwardly of said edges.

41-. A welt butting machine having,jin combination, means for removingsurplus material at and adjacent to an end portion of the welta separate stitch cutter, and a guard extending in advance of the stitch cutter.

In a welt butting apparatus an inseam stitch cutter and a shoe guide and guard arranged to engage the shoe bottom at the ina '85 Havingexplained the nature of thisin i nor side of the inseam and permit the shoe to slide therealong into operative:relation to the stitch cutter. a i

6. in a machine of the class described, a stitch cutter having a guard extending in advance thereof and. adapted to form the initial contacting point between the shoe bottom and the machine. l

7 In a welt butting machine, a stitch cutter mounted for. movement upwardly from a shoe receiving position to position for the welt to be butted and having a non-cutting stant angular relation to the horizontal.

9. In a welt butting machine a stitch cutter arranged to act lengthwise of the inseam and provided with a'guard extending in advance of the cutting edge and adapted to engage the innersole at the inner side of the inseam.

10 In a welt butting machine a stitch cutter arranged to permit the shoe to be pressed backwardly against it for cutting the stitches, said cutter being mounted for movement upwardly by such pressure of the shoe whereby to avoid cutting too deeply into the shoe bottom.

11. In a Welt butting machine, stitch cutters for the opposite ends of the inseam arranged to permit the shoe to be pressed backwardly against them, and means for automatically raising the cutters during said backward pressure.

12. A welt butting machine having in combination, a welt butter, a welt rest having a stitch cutting edge, a stop for limiting relative movement of the shoe and rest, and actuating means for the welt butter arranged to be started by movement of the rest and shoe together after the stitches have been cut.

13. A welt butting machine, having in combination, means for removing surplus material at and adjacent to the ends of the welt, stitch cutters, a stop, a movable support for the stop and cutters, and connecting mechanism wherethrough movement of said support causes said means to do its work.

142-, A welt butting machine, having in combination, a welt butter, a stitch cutter, a support for the stitch cutter adapted for movement by the shoe to cause the welt butter to do its work, and a contact member adjustable to determine the point to which the stitches can be out before the welt butter is caused to operate.

15. In a welt butting apparatus, resting and positioning devices arranged to be inserted under the two butt end portions of the -welt by a relative movement of the shoe and said devices lengthwise of the shoe, said resting devices having welt supporting faces oppositely inclined to the vertical longitudinal plane of the apparatus in combination with welt butting knives movable over said devices to bevel the welt ends, and means for pressing the welt ends down upon said devices in advance of the operation .of the knives.

16- A Welt b ng appa atus, h ving i combination, a weltrest, a swinging butting knife to bevel the welt, and a yielding wiper arranged to rub over the welt in advance of the knife and yield relatively thereto as the knife cuts into the welt in forming the bevel.

17. A welt butting apparatus, having in combination, a knife, means to actuate the knife in an arc to butt the welt, a welt rest formed to support the welt end in an inclined position in the path of the knife to determine the bevel at which the welt shall be butted, and means for securing the rest in different adjusted positions longitudi nally of the path of the knife.

18. A welt. butting apparatus, having in combination, a butting knife, an inseam stitch cutter, and means whereby the said knife and cutter can be adjusted relatively.

19. A welt butting apparatus, having in combination, butting knives and weltrests for opposite sides of the shoe and mount ings for the rests to permit independent endwise yielding movement of either rest.

20. A welt butting machine, having in combination, a stitch cutter, a welt butter and a tacker arranged to act on a shoe in different positions of the shoe, and a shoe support constructed and arranged to support the shoe in said different operative positions. v v

21. A welt butting machine,having in combination, a welt butter, actuating mechanism therefor including a clutch, a stitch cutter with relation to which the shoe may be positioned before it is presented to the welt butter, and means arranged to trip the clutch automatically during movement of the shoe to the Welt butter.

22. A machine .of the class described, having in combination, a device for operating on a shoe, actuating mechanism therefor infirst mentioned operating device, and means arranged to trip the clutch automatically during subsequent movement of the shoe to the said first mentioned operating device.

23. A machine of the class described, having in combination, means to skive a welt end, means to rubthe welt end down in advance of the skiving means, means to compress the stock against the last bottom and means to insert a tack to secure the stock.

A machine of the class described, hav

ing in combination, stitch cutting means and.

Welt butting means arranged tooperate on a shoe in one position, and upper tightening means and tacking means arranged to operate on the shoe When ,the shoe has been moved to a different position.

26. A machine of the class described, having in combination, stitch cutting means,

. Welt butting means, Welt butt holding down means, upper tightening means, and tacking means, said tightening and tacking means being arranged laterally adjacent to the other means to operate on a shoe which is presented thereto in. a different position from that in which the shoe is presented to said other means.

27. A machine of the class described, having in combination, stitch cutting means, Welt butting means, automatic starting means for the butting means, upper tightening means, and tacking means.

28. A machine of the class described, having in combination, stitch cutting means and Welt butting means, together with up:

per tightening means, stock compressing means, and tacking means, Which latter three means are arranged for operation upona shoe When the latter has been moved away from the cutting means and has been repositioned against the tightening means.

29. A machine of the class described, havcopies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by Washington, I). C.

ing, ,in combination, a cutter to sever the inseam stitches, a blade to tighten the up- 1 pe r, and a tacker to fasten the upper, said members being arranged adjacent to one anpresentation of the shoe 1 other to facilitate to them successively.

30. A machine of the class described,having, in combination, a cutterto sever the inseam stitches, a cutter to butt the Welt, and a tacker to fasten the Welt end, said the upper, and a support for the shoe by which it is movable to present the same shoe in diilercnt positions to said cutters, blade and tacker successively.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LOUIS G. FREEMAN. \Vitnesses EDWIN MCCOY,

F. J. DnRRIoK.

addressing the. Commissioner of IPatents, 

